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FPE Stab Lok Electric Panel Advice for Home Buyers & Sellers InspectAPedia®  -     Is the FPE Stab-Lok Hazard Real? Has there been an FPE Stab Lok Recall? FPE Repair/Replacement Advice Who pays for FPE Stab-Lok replacement?

SAFETY WARNING: we advise against purchasing replacement FPE Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok circuit breakers or panel parts. Data indicates that these replaacement parts do not peform more safely than old or original FPE parts, and other innate safety concerns with the panel and bus assmembly also would remain in place. The FPE Stab-Lok electrical panel and its part should be replaced entirely. The bottom line on FPE Stab-Lok equipment: The FPE Stab-Lok Panel is a latent fire hazard. The panel or its entire bus assembly should be replaced, not simply some or all of the FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers. Replacement cost ranges from $800 to $2000. There is no useful FPE recall, warranty, or other financial relief.See FPE REPLACEMENT PANELS.

This is a brief summary of the FPE hazard and FPE electrical panel repair recommendations. This Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok Electrical Panel replacement advice discusses the real hazards of FPE Electric Stab Lok panels and FPE circuit breakers. We address claims by parties with conflicting interests, such as home sellers, real estate agents or attorneys representing sellers or other interests who occasionally claim that there is no Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok hazard or cite the absence of a final government recall as a reason to ignore this hazard. We include links to public documents concerning legal and safety issues surrounding this equipment and we link to articles offering FPE panel replacement advice and money-saving alternatives.

DRAFT detailed text in process

FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers fail to trip - a fire risk The articles and field reports at The Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok Information Website are from neutral party experts, electricians, and home owners who make clear that the FPE Stab-Lok circuit breaker and panel hazard is a serious but latent fire hazard. That means, simply having an FPE Stab-Lok electrical panel in a home does not itself initiate a failure or fire. The problem is that FPE breakers often don't trip when they should in order to prevent a fire. In other words, if no circuit in the building ever has a reason to trip a circuit breaker, no one will have ever seen the "FPE no-trip" problem. But when one of these breakers should trip to turn off power to prevent a fire, there is a stunningly high chance that it won't.

Extensive independent tests as well as field incident reports confirm that having a Stab-Lok electrical panel is similar to the risk of having put a penny in a fuse socket instead of a fuse. The FPE Stab-Lok photograph shown here is an example of a circuit breaker which failed with an arcing incident sufficient to burn out and blow out the side of the circuit breaker case.

Federal Pacific Electric Stab Lok Panels Should Be Replaced not "Repaired" Replace the PanelIf the electrical panel or circuit breakers are identified as Federal Pacific Electric or "Stab Lok" the electrical panel should be replaced and a new panel with new breakers installed. The REPLACEMENT PANELS link at page left offers some alternatives and can save you some money.

Do not just replace the FPE circuit breakers, and do not install substitute or "replacement" FPE breakers that "fit" in the panel. We have yet to be supplied with independent test data indicating that these new breakers perform any better than the originals, and we have received field reports of failures and burn-ups with "new" and "replacement" FPE breakers.

Do not waste time looking for an FPE product recall, FPE warranty claim, or FPE panel replacement money: there isn't any except for a successful class action lawsuit that affects some New Jersey homeowners and an older Federal Pioneer (same product different label) recall for some Canadian equipment. FPE and FP product recalls are discussed further below.

How to identify FPE Stab-Lok Electrical Equipment Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok (TM) panels and breakers are easily identified by markings on the panel front face (inside the door), writing on paper labels that may glued to the inside of the panel cover or inside the panel enclosure, the appearance of the circuit breakers, and unique appearance of the panel bus design (that breakers are plugged into). Some of these details can be observed safely only by a licensed electrician who can remove circuit breakers but most of them are easily observed by a homeowner.

How to Identify Federal Pacific Electric Stab Lok Panels see this article on how to identify or Recognize Federal Pacific Electric FPE Stab Lok circuit breakers and electrical panels - Product Identification photos and advice" helps identify Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok equipment.

Do not rely on electrical panel age, nor on an "inspection" by an electrician or home inspector or building inspector. Don't rely on a home owner, seller, real estate agent, or anyone else who says "it's been fine so far" either.

FACT: Saying that an FPE Stab-Lok panel has "performed just fine up to now" is not a reliable indicator of its safety.
OPINION: If you are never in an auto crash the fact that your seatbelt is hanging by a thread will never be noticed.

Federal Pacific Electric Panel Recalls - FPE Stab-Lok Recalls If you are looking for a federal recall notice you won't find it. I suggest reading the test data cited at the FPE Stab-Lok information website and below, the court findings of fraud by FPE, and the many field reports of failures and even fires. The FPE hazard is real, well defined, and unambiguous.

Although Federal Pacific Electric lost it's UL listing for a time, it subsequently went out of business. There was no product recall issued in the U.S. (There was a product recall of some Canadian products under the Federal Pioneer brand version of this panel.)

Looking for an FPE Recall?

OPINION: Relying on a product recall is like believing that there is no crime because we have police departments or believing that there are no auto accidents because cars have brakes. There can be real hazards without a recall. There has been no recall of pennies put in fuse sockets, for example.

What if the FPE Panel Looks OK and No Problems Have Occurred in a Particular Home? What if up to now there has been no evidence of a "failure" in a home serviced by a Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok electrical panel? If you haven't seen FPE failures yourself, see Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Panel Fires and other Failures: Anecdotal Field Reports of Failures involving FPE Stab-Lok Equipment - which is a collection of field failure reports, fires, overheats, and FPE problems which has over 130 entries (and more on file waiting to be entered). In the Federal Pacific Electric Stab-lok (TM) panel bus assembly shown here, the equipment "looked fine" to the home inspector, home owner, home buyer, real estate agent, and everyone else, until the licensed electrician, someone familiar with FPE failures, removed a few circuit breakers to show the burning bus-to-breaker connections in the electrical panel. Considering that only 2% to 5% of electrical failures are ever reported to any collecting authority, this is significant.

Who should pay for replacement of a Federal Pacific Electric Company Stab-Lok Panel? Don't look to the government: We know of no meaningful program offered by any company nor government agency which provides financial assistance for the replacement of this unsafe electrical panel. This FPE photograph is of the backside of the electrical panel bus assembly where an overheating condition and "meltdown" are occurring. This damage could not be seen unless the panel is taken out of the enclosure.

So who pays?: Home buyers and some home sellers often ask us who should pay for replacement of this unsafe electrical panel. Our opinion is that the panel is unsafe and should be replaced, but we are a neutral party with regard to who should pay for this repair.

Payment or allowance for addressing any substantive defect discovered at a property being purchased is a matter for negotiation between the parties, with advice from their attorney and real estate agent.

What does it cost?: Typical installation of a new 100-Amp electrical panel in the U.S. ranges from $900. to $1200. including parts and labor. Working in a tight space, installing a higher ampacity electrical panel, or other considerations might push this cost up closer to $1800. The cost of replacing an FPE Stab-Lok panel can be substantially reduced if the electrician agrees that it is suitable to re-use the original steel panel enclosure, inserting a new bus assembly and breakers, because the labor of rerouting wires is eliminated. See REPLACEMENT PANELS.

It is unfortunate when a building seller, real estate agent, or their attorney put the safety of future occupants of a building at risk by attempting to head off negotiation on this particular defect by asserting that there is no hazard. The risks are well documented by both field reports and independent lab testing. The cost to cure this common building defect is quite small compared with the value or purchase price of almost any building. An owner or real estate agent who is informed about this safety hazard and who fails to disclose this condition to another future buyer may be liable for real estate fraud as well as for any ensuing loss.

Because the safety of the future occupants of the building as well as the building itself are at risk, the new owner should assure that the panel is replaced, regardless of who pays for it. If the building is not being sold, certainly the current owner should have this safety hazard corrected promptly.

Key Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok panel and circuit breaker hazard articles and references

Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Panel Fire and Failure Photos involving FPE Stab-Lok Equipment is an additional collection of FPE incident reports & FPE failures and fires with photos.

FPE Stab-Lok TECHNICAL REPORT - Hazardous FPE Circuit Breakers and Electrical Panels, is a technical report by an un-biased forensic engineer who has tested this equipment and shown the high failure rate of the equipment.

Federal Pacific Electric Panel Tests Indicate Failures is a forensic lab analysis of a failed field panel confirming the "no-trip" status of some of its breakers.

Home Inspection Report Language recommends wording on reporting this latent safety hazard to home buyers, owners, and other parties involved in a real estate transaction where FPE equipment is installed.

Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Electrical Hazards Website is the home page which organizes our public FPE documents.

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